Dine, drill and dash

RCMP nab Pemberton corkscrew robber

A Sunday night crime spree in the northern part of the Sea-to-Sky corridor has resulted in four men facing numerous potential charges including assault and armed robbery.

At approximately 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 5, 2006 Whistler-Pemberton RCMP received a complaint of an assault that had occurred at a Lake Placid Road restaurant in Whistler. Four Caucasian male patrons caused a disturbance in the restaurant that resulted in one of the men punching a male server. The server suffered minor injuries.

The four men fled before the police arrived on the scene. Witnesses provided the RCMP with a vague description of the suspects, a vehicle description and licence plate number. A comprehensive search of the area revealed no further information.

Less than an hour later, the RCMP were notified of an armed robbery that had just occurred at a gas station in the Village of Pemberton. Two men, matching the suspects in the aforementioned incident, had held up the gas station with a corkscrew. The duo then made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes in a red Ford Ranger pickup truck that matched the description of the vehicle from the Whistler incident.

RCMP responded immediately to the armed robbery. Lower Mainland RMCP dispatched a police dog to aid in the investigation.

The police discovered the abandoned pickup near the entrance to the Mackenzie Basin Forest Service Road. Police contained the area until the Police Dog Service arrived shortly after 11 p.m. The dog soon located two suspects near the vehicle. The two men were subsequently arrested.

With help from the general public, the two other males alleged to be involved in the Whistler incident were observed hitchhiking back into the VOP. They were located and arrested on Portage Road.

The four men, three from Vancouver and one from Coquitlam, have been transferred to North Vancouver to appear in Provincial Court this week. The men face possible criminal charges of: fraudulently obtaining food, flight from police, assault, robbery, and possession of stolen property.